ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. sharp — clever
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. scale — in music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ball — a dance
  8. shower — rain
  9. band — a ring
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. band — a music group
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. scale — size or range
  19. capital — a city
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — in football
  24. shower — to wash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com